Europe is a Union of cities and towns; around 75% of population of the EU have chosen urban areas as their place to live. But impacts of urbanisation extend, beyond city borders. Europeans have adopted urban lifestyles and they use city amenities such as cultural, educational or health services. While cities are the motors of Europe’s economy and creators of European wealth, they depend heavily on resources of outside regions to meet their demand for resources like energy, water, food, and to accommodate waste and emissions.

Over the last decades, continuous urban expansion at rates much higher than population growth has resulted in a massive urban footprint on Europe – fragmenting rural space, blocking ecosystem services and increasing the demand for transport and energy.

Soil is the earth's living skin and provides us with essential services for life in our planet: production of food; infiltration and cleansing of water and protection against flooding; habitat for plants; areas for recreation and mental health; micro climate regulation, etc. It is such a crucial resource that it can't be ignored. However, particularly in urban areas, soil is being sealed off with increasing housing and infrastructure.

Car ownership trends and projections (2000-2050). Although car ownership is projected to grow at much higher rates in China and India than in the rest of the world, the number of cars per person in 2050 will still stay below that of more advanced economies.